"My great-grandmother taught me to crochet when I was 3 years old. Upon inspecting my first chain, she replied, 'Bahh, it's crooked.' Then she frogged it and handed it back to me. I've been motivated by snark ever since."

Josi's primary inspirations are the color & motion, the people & textures, the music & vitality of the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago in which she lives. Her proud Southside roots might account for her bold use of color and love of form-hugging silhouettes... and her background in computer science makes her more than a touch picky about the details.

She loves Intelligentsia Coffee, pastries from BomBon Café & Da Bears. She can be pacified with good chocolate, would never even think of putting ketchup on a hot dog, and does not consider 20 below zero too cold for a football game. Although gushy compliments usually make her cringe, she loves to hear from readers about how they would tweak her designs.

Proud mama of a college student and currently caretaker to 3 cats, her husband has to cover her eyes when she sees neighborhood strays. She lives by the motto: Dream Bigger.